Archive for December, 2008

New Year Resolutions!

December 31, 2008 at 3:47 pm · Filed under Bad Spending Habits, Eating Out, Financial Independence, Frugality, Getting Started, Nigeria, Savings

I’d like to start by wishing every reader of this blog a Happy and Prosperous New Year. Prosperous? you might say, and yes, it will be prosperous for individuals like you and I in the forthcoming year, if we change some of our spending habits.  Like a friend and fellow blogger F, who does not track how much comes out of her wallet.  Ialso have a bad habit of not tracking my miscellanous expenses on a daily basis…I actually keep the receipts but somehow, I never seem to take proper note of how much I spend on groceries, cosmetics and other food items. Which brings me to the issue of resolutions. I guess New Year resolutions have been around for ages and some we keep while we do not keep some. This may be attributable to several factors.

I’d like to start 2009 in the following fashion by sticking to the following:

  • sustain and maintain my eating right, exercise right program.
  • save a minimum of 70% of my monthly income.
  • start investing in real estate.
  • explore alternative income opportunities.
  • keep a weekly track of all miscellanous spending.

These are some of the few resolutions I intend to kickstart in 2009. So, what are your own resolutions?

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What is your biggest Naira spend?

December 29, 2008 at 1:57 pm · Filed under Bad Spending Habits, Financial Independence, Frugality, Getting Started, Marriage, Savings, Women and Money ·Tagged

I am a lover of lingerie. The colorful, the merrier…often times, I indulge in an unbridled shopping spree. For me, this is my biggest Naira spend since I dedicate between $400 – $600 on an annual basis for this specialty item. Why lingerie, you may ask? I don’t know but I guess I’ve always loved clean, sexy underwear. I remember an article I read when I was young, discussing the importance of good dressing starting from beneath. Imagine if you have to be in the hospital for one reason or the other, how embarrased will you be when all of a sudden, as you’re about to take off your clothes or otherwise, you suddenly remember the awful, torn and worn pair of underwear you have on.

That article made quite an impression on me as a young girl and since then, I’ve ensured that no matter how small, I always set aside a special lingerie fund. Don’t think I haven’t received lots of flak for this cos my close friends and sisters think i’m actually crazy to spend such amounts on a pair of bra, panties, bustiers and corsets that no one gets to see on a regular basis. Hey, a girl has got to have fun and putting on a great pair of lingerie is soul therapy for me. How bad is this? I don’t know but from my own viewpoint, what is the point of putting on gorgeous clothes when you have on hideous underwear beneath? It’s completely outrageous. Oftentimes, when i’m on vacation, I have forgone a dress or a lovely pair of shoes just to buy lingerie. I’ve had several arguments about this issue but i’m not budging on the importance of good hygiene which starts from a pair of great looking lingerie.

My second biggest spend would have to be Sleepwear cos I think it’s always nice to dress up when you’re going to bed. I’m a lover of La Senza, Women’s Secrets, Vanity Fair, M&S, Bendon Lingerie, Woolworth, Intimissimi, Ann Summers and a whole lot of other great stores out there. For me, I do not compromise on quality so I can be sure that what I buy will last for ages. While considering this in terms of the recent global recession, i’ve decided to reduce my lingerie budget to $250 maximum so I can focus on other greater priorities I’ve got ahead of me in 2009. In the coming year, we have got to be realistic about how much to spend and what is actually available so that we do not end up buying more than we can chew. So, what is your biggest Naira spend?

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Striving For Excellence

December 17, 2008 at 11:49 am · Filed under Career, Getting Started, Nigeria

Last year, I attended my sister’s convocation ceremony at the University of Ibadan. I listened to the address given by the Vice-Chancellor of this great university, admonishing the young graduates to make the most of every opportunity they come across in life. Six years ago, I don’t remember listening attentively to the Vice-Chancellor since I was busy exchanging pleasantries with my classmates and we were busy plotting how we were going to work for some of the best organizations within the country. Since then, a lot of water has passed under the bridge. I may not be too sure what career path my younger sister may tread in life, but I know she’s got a passion for striving for excellence in all she does.   

This leads me to a question I’ve been meaning to ask “how many parents out there provide a support base for their children” in terms of achieving their dreams and passions in life. Our parents are rather interested in re-living their own lives through their children and that’s why we have a lot of kids out there pursuing their parent’s passion instead of running with their own dreams. I know how emotional this can get because I personally engaged in several arguments and counter accusations with my dad who wanted his daughter to be a chartered accountant. I never became a chartered accountant cos accounting, though an easy subject proved to be boring for my personality. I couldn’t see myself working in finance and auditing for the rest of my life crunching out numbers.  Now I’m better off pursuing my own passion instead of living out my father’s dream.

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Recession! Recession! Recession!

December 15, 2008 at 3:30 pm · Filed under Financial Independence, Frugality, Getting Started, Nigeria, Savings, Travel, Women and Money

That the global world is experiencing a major financial setback is no longer news. What would make news over the next one year is how we manage our finances and spending in order to save more money in our cash till. Recently, I came across an MSN article analysing the end of 0% down payment. While our banks are still offering a 10% down payment for almost anything including that once in a lifetime vacation, other countries are already thinking ahead on the best possible way of salvaging this dreadful financial mess.

So, what are some of the austerity measures we may likely introduce in our monthly budgets? I, for instance have decided that I’ll be saving more than I ever did; invest some money in the money market and still buy more stocks cos the market will rebound someday (if you’re investing for the long term). One other thing i’ve yet to decide on is concerning my vacation trips….I won’t give up on that (life is too short not to enjoy it cos you’ll end up dead anyway) but one thing, i’ll likely do is to look out for bargain trips that will save me more money on accomodation and ticket fares.

So, i’d like to ask you out there…what are the austerity measures you intend to kickstart in 2009?

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